AUGUSTA, Maine — In Gallup poll results released Tuesday, Maine ranks next to last for the percentage of respondents who describe themselves as “thriving” in the first half of 2012. Only West Virginia fared worse.
The results come a week after a separate Gallup poll revealed that a lower percentage of Mainers than residents of any other state say they believe conditions will improve in their state during the next five years.
The findings align, as the most recently released survey results derive from a measuring tool called the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale, which classifies respondents as “thriving,” “struggling” or “suffering” according to how they rate their lives now and how they envision their circumstances to be in five years.
At almost 62 percent, Hawaii claims the highest percentage of residents who define themselves as thriving. Utah, which topped the Aug. 7 list of states where residents say that life will improve during the next half decade, places second for “thriving” residents with 59.3 percent, followed by South Dakota with 58.3 percent.
The percentage of Mainers polled who fall into the “thriving” category sits at 46.6 percent, two percentage points behind Delaware at 48.6 percent, but well ahead of West Virginia at 42.3 percent.
Nationally, 53.6 percent of U.S. adults merit the “thriving” classification, which constitutes a slight improvement over 2011, according to Gallup writer Lymari Morales. South Dakota showed the biggest gain and Alaska the deepest drop.
Comparing how respondents rate their lives now to what they anticipate in five years indicates that residents of all 50 states foresee improvements. The survey shows that residents of Louisiana expect the greatest positive movement, while Vermont earns Gallup’s title of “least optimistic state” for this survey.
“While this thriving measure doesn’t always align perfectly with macro-level trends on economic indicators such as economic confidence and job creation, it is known to correlate with personal factors in one’s own life including career, social, physical, financial and community well-being,” Morales wrote.
Gallup based the results of this survey on a random sample of 177,870 phone calls made between January and June 2012. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 percent for smaller states such as Maine.
Noooooo!
Really?
You mean after two years in office LePage hasn’t turned us around. I wonder why. All he has done is hurt the working class with his policies.
And wait until the next election and he gains more support; because the ones who will be hurt the most feel disenfranchised and won’t vote.
That’s bull, we are angry. To say that, you do not know how hard it is for Maine people to carry on for their own. Of anyone, he should know that fact, when he would bring his family food on the sly sometimes. It will be even worse next year with the heat and drought. Just like my parents, I will be so happy to have a fresh orange for Christmas.
I just read your comment. I can understand your anger because as a young married man I had to struggle myself as I made my way through college and worked part-time. There were times we had little food and and barely enough money to buy formula for the baby. We had two clunkers to travel with, and at one point we had to sell one for $200 to pay our rent. Food stamps were available to us but we never for one moment thought they were for us. We also had to make hospital payments for the time my wife delivered our first child. Fortunately, the hospital of our choice was a Catholic hospital that allowed us to skip a monthly payment now and then without any recrimination. Yet all the while we were grateful. Not long after graduation I became permanently disabled and without a job commensurate with my education. What did I do? I kept my part-time job while looking for a better paying job. Eventually I got a reasonably good paying job that helped pay the bills. It took several years of hard work (work was especially hard for me with my disability) before we managed to set a bit of money aside for a rainy day, that is, enough money to cover expenses for one month. As you well know life is full of kinks and curves. That rainy day fund disappeared more then once, and we had to start all over each time it was depleted to build it up again. For the first 15 years of my marriage we had no TV reception in the house because we could not afford payments for cable TV, the only available source of reception. My three children were raised w/o any TV reception except for a VCR recording we rented each weekend for entertainment. Although poor by today’s standard we never considered ourselves poor. When we had a little extra money we were grateful. Eventually my spouse and I both worked full-time and our financial struggles ended.
With that I wonder if you are as worse off as you imply you are. I see for instance you have Internet service from where you are, so I can only assume you have TV reception service as well. If that is the case, why are you not dropping these services? Being angry is not a solution to poverty. It will never get you anywhere and might even get you in worse trouble. When you think you are poor just think about how much poorer you could be. Besides, count all the blessings you have. I can tell you from my own experience, if you only pause once a day to do these two additional things, your anger will subside and you will no longer think of yourself as being poor.
You shouldn’t comment when you’re sleeping and dreaming that LePage will be reelected because all the people he’s insulted and trod on are too depressed by him to bother to vote. Hahahahaha, he’s toast.
‘When the people find they can vote themselves money, that will hearld the end of the republic.’ — Benjamin Franklin
LePage has done nothing but reduced our deficit and is working to control spending.
It’s your fantasy, so I guess you can make it as ridiculous as you want.
LePage will get my vote for a second term.
He’s not articulate or polished, but he understands the fundamental problems holding Maine back and he’s not afraid to take on the liberal machine in Augusta to fix things.
So breaking the law and violating court orders is ok if you have Governor in front of your name? He isn’t fighting the “liberal machine” he is breaking laws, unilaterally negating popular votes by not selling bonds, and in general acting not like an elected official, but more like an Emperor for life. He is more Emperor Palpatine than George Washington.
You need to be careful what you wish for… LePage has done NOTHING positive for the state of Maine and as evidence shows Maine is NOT thriving – it’s gone down to the bottom of the barrel. And so you wish for more of this? Well, before you start whining about who did what in the past and saying so what if LePage does it too… let me tell you something. I don’t care what others did before he was elected Governor. This has been his term, his opportunity and it was his job to start, yes I said start, improving things and he has yet to begin. As a matter of fact some of his priorities when he first took office included removing a mural and going on vacation, bashing NAACP, insulting the President and then cowering and taking it back when he met him in person, then he claimed to be more knowledgeable about BPA than scientists and told the world he didn’t care if it did harm women and children, then the priority was whoopie pies and blueberry pies, and the list of ridiculous things seems endless. Are those really what you see as Maine’s priority problems because obviously those were his priorities. No, I don’t think so… LePage is absolutely not in touch with Maine’s problems and I won’t be voting for him – of that I am 100% certain!
….
You can’t erase 60 years of damage that liberal policies created in two years. It would take many years to move us from a welfare state to a thriving state. It will never happen because this state is too liberal just like the other liberal states like CA. NY, NJ, etc that are in financial trouble.
60 years now? I thought it was 40 years. Why don’t we just make it 200 years of liberal rule?
Closer to 60 than 40.
I’ll wager that Maine is a lot better of now then they were 60 years ago. Take off yer Fox News shades and see the truth.
Are you suggesting that the liberals haven’t destroyed Maine’s economy over the past few decades?
“Are you suggesting that the liberals haven’t destroyed Maine’s economy over the past few decades? ”
Are you ignoring the Bush Recession and bail outs ?
Hey, okay, no one wants to talk about that.
It was not a great moment for anyone.
But where are all the jobs, IN AMERICA, that your mythical “job creators” were going to creator with their Bush tax cuts ?
ooh-ooh I can answer that one. The jobs are overseas and the bailout money is in the offshore bank accounts of the theives that brought us to the brink of disaster to begin with.
‘Bush recession and bail outs.’
During a liberal controlled House and Senate.
You do understand that Bush had about 3 months left in office when the ’08 crash occured? And much of what was passed to stem a complete collapse was drawn up before Obama took office.
Yes, that is exactly what I am suggesting.
Really, Maine is last in business and first in Taxes,congrats to you and your liberal friends…thats how you like it.
Yea it has nothing at all to do with Maine being the oldest State in the national, thus full of retirees that do not work (as they shouldn’t have to) and the Job Creators (Trickle Down 2.0) creating no jobs so Maine’s best and brightest young people flock out of state in droves. Being the “Vacationland” means a lot of seasonal low paying work, not sustainable gold watch after 50 years type of work. Plus LePage makes Maine look bad every time he opens that gaping maw he calls a mouth. Oh and lets not forget, under LePage we have become a cruel state as well, telling the elderly and mentally ill they are on their own. Yea the Tea Party way has just been a massive success, not.
Maine is the oldest state in the nation because 40 years of liberal rule have driven out our young smart, ambitious young people and left us with welfare rates and retirees. Who doesn’t know several young people who had to leave the state in order to get a decent job?
Yea cause that whole Job Creator thing the GOP keeps touting works so well… Republican’s greatest fear is a middle class, they can keep their thumb on the poor, and do everything they can to limit the middle class because the middle class can vote them out when they realize they tax the middle class much higher than themselves. The Dems want a large middle class, because the middle class spends money, they don’t hoard it like the GOP. Spending money means we need people to build things, come up with mew things, and have money to pay for services for the elderly and mentally ill. Funny how the GOP is against abortion, but after you are born, sure why not kill em. Death penalty, elderly not being able to buy heating oil or food so they live off cat food, homeless can just suffer and die, and the mentally ill should be warehoused if not euthanized.
The Dems LOVE the poor. By keeping them poor they can make them dependent on government handouts and buy their votes by giving them money taken from the productive.
But a very high percentage of those young people who leave return in 5 years disenchanted with how wonderful it was elsewhere. They figure out how to make a living in this wonderful state. 42 years ago, I chose to move here and I really hate to hear those who’ve experienced nothing else run this state down. Sure there is room for improvement but we’ve got it pretty good.
Wrong. Neighbor’s kids just came for a visit from San Francisco with the realization they escaped to a better world.
These statistics are predicated on the fact that graduates seeking high tech jobs could only find them out of state. Things are changing, though. Likewise with many other jobs. Thousands left the state after graduation to find jobs matching their qualifications. Some chose to stay and create their own jobs, or, take advantage of other state-oriented jobs.
Don’t continually sock it to the welfare and oldsters. You could need welfare one day. And, as for the oldsters – you’ll get there eventually.
Your “Open For Business” advocate stayed in the shadows when Maine’s prime lobster industry was blockaded by our “neighbors” across the border.
The man who trumpets business whilst putting us all down as lazy old buzzards, hid somewhere. Why wasn’t he knocking on the New Brunswick Premier’s front door demanding answers?
Instead, he languished under the kitchen table, whilst Chellie Pingree dug up at least two major markets right here in Maine. She happens to be a liberal – a happy one, too.
Not one naughty word from “our” governor, who fearlessly told the NAACP to do something nasty, and told lobstermen he would tell the president to go to an awful place.
A fearless exponent of Tea Bag ideology dedicated to eliminating the folk in the middle of this giant system – democrats and republicans alike. He has no mercy.
Young, smart and ambitious Mainers have been leaving this state for well over a century. Many have stayed, too, when opportunity was discovered, many moved from rural areas and one-horse (or one will) towns to industrial and commercial centers, a continuing pattern of migration. True, many older Mainer who left decades ago have returned “home,” so to say, but their having left Maine was usually connected to shifting work opportunities nation-wide which put them into a stream of migration out of rural and small town American to big industrial and commercial centers. In the case of Maine, tucked away in the northeast corner, and a state generally controlled by a handful of industries, utilities and like whose labor needs were satisfied by immigration as well as young workers from the hinterlands, where else to go but somewhere beyond Kittery? When growing up during and after WWII (well over forty years ago), I recall everyone seemed to know someone who had gone to Connecticut to work for Pratt and Whitney, and that was just one of many destinations where wages were good, working conditions were decent and better personal opportunities abounded. At the same time the Cold War brought opportunities for civilian opportunity in military bases in Maine (one can’t ignore the building of the interstate highway system, seen as a defense program whose designers were inspired by the German autobahn) opportunities in the continuing war economy. The baby boom, with its concurrent demand for housing and schools triggered a long period of contstruction. A destroyed European and Asian industrial base led to many more opportunities in construction and other industries as fortress USA (protected by the world’s biggest moat) had a couple decades of virtually no competition. Many more went into the military, a time-honored job program found attractive to many kids from the nation’s poorer regions.
But that period was an anomaly. Much of Maine’s jobs history was never as flush as in that time.
These are only snippets of the history of Maine’s laboring population, which has to be seen as a whole before one can or even try to draw any sort of definitive picture about a small slice of it. It is full of general patterns marked with exceptions, a good many of them more related to geography and global forces beyond the control of any mere legislature or inhabitant of the Blaine House. There are no doubt issues related to Maine’s demographic patterns and the attendant problems therein but they can’t be laid solely at any single doorstep, and yelling at one another probably won’t do much good in addressing them.
Let’s get real. the Newcomers are >50 and ‘comfortable’ with pensions, etc.
So all we hear about is creating j0bs for young people; why not improving the service economy focused on meeting the needs of all these retirees.
You want money????….it’s in the banks and behind Cutler’s gates; not in some stupid park occupied with worn out hippys still waving their old Communist slogans.
Liberals like Richard Nixon, Ron Reagan, and the two Georges who supported NAFTA, off-shore corporate tax havens, and gave other (SOMETIMES HOSTILE) countries freedom to fish our waters, and woo our businesses?
Maine is suffering from a case of Walmartitis. Folks like cheap Chinese made shoes, shirts, and T.V. sets. To compete with China, a US business woould have to be allowed to ignore all enviornmental laws, pay their help $14 a week, and employe children.
Folks the communists said they would bury us using shovels we sold them. China is a communist Nation.
Tell me again who won the cold war?
Clinton signed N.A.F.T.A. into law, make taxes a flat rate no deductions and make all off shore tax havens illegal, start a trade war with China by implementing massive tarrifs, make plantiffs pay all legal fee’s if they lose, protect U.S. waters from foriegn fishermen, we won the cold war but lost the war at home and now no one feels shame for being lazy, ignorant, unwed pregnancys, illegal aliens, on welfare.One generation is teaching the next how to “get over” on the system in a lot of families and that is what has destroyed this country and NEITHER party is willing to do a darn thing about it.
Some 90 years ago the republicans destroyed the best chance we had in converting mighty ocean tides into electricity.
We don’t need the Jersey Turnpike and a bunch of concrete block windowless shoe factories, where people work 12 hour shifts for $4 bucks an hour with five minute lunch breaks.
Our main industry is tourism.
Congrats on your “tourism” job paying $4.00 p/h to serve tourist lobster rolls. Many people took pride in the “manufacturing” of quality goods its a shame you look down your nose at them.
“Why don’t we just make it 200 years of liberal rule?”
Because then the notion that Foundering Fathers really wanted a Christian nation, not separation of Church and State might be called into questioned, if the cons ever admitted how liberal they actually were.
60 years is a big enough lie.
Let’s just hold his feet to the fire, on that whopper.
Okay, you win…..40 years.
Damn, we’re up to 60 years now. Wasn’t Mr. Olympia Snowe – a Republican – governor also.
No, not really.
California is a wreck!
Need more likes on Maineboy’s excellent comment, folks.
Why? Not worth it. Is that how so many conservative posts get “liked”. Cheating?
…..
In the past 60 years the USA when from being a secand world back water to the most powerful and the richest nation in the history of mankind.
If it’s true what you wrote, that Liberials where in charge then our recent trouble must be caused by the scum bag Paul Lepage.
Its absolutely hysterical how Republicans and Teapartyers say this whenever Lepage is questioned, yet these are the exact same people who expect our President to turn the country around after 8 years of horror with Bush…Which is it? Does the GOP really believes all of the lies they spew about wanting to help this country and caring about the working class? They are in this for the RICH, plain and simple…ya know simple, kinda like most of their policies.
House and Senate control federal spending not the President or the governor. I like how people say how great Clinton did with a conservative run House and how lousy Bush did with a liberal run house and blame the president in both cases. LePage is also working to correct 4 decades of liberal policy for a liberal controlled house and Senate, while a barely conservative run house is working against the president to try to fix a decade of congressional liberal rule.
Most people credit/blame the President no matter what since he’s the only politician they know.It amazes me how many people of any party(or none)don’t know their own senator or rep,let alone local selectmen,school board people,etc-the people who REALLY impact their lives.
That conservative run house is working against the people. They don’t want the economy to improve. If it did then they would not be re-elected.The senate has had a record 270 + filibusters to prevent almost nothing getting done.This is your republican progress?Do the words:”We need to make sure that Obabma is a one term president” ring any bells.That was almost 4 years ago.Does that sound like a congress that wants to improve the economy?
LePage decided to help push Maine’s economy further down through tax cuts that created deficits so he could push his social agenda, not create jobs.
60 years now?
Since 1952 there have been 5 democrats, 7 republicans and 2 independent governors in Maine.
Liberals & Liberal lites.. both expanded the welfare state.
We are a welfare/environmentalist state.
The” working class” is not state retirees and welfare recepients.
The working class isn’t the 1 % that got the most of his recent tax breaks either. State workers, retirees and the poor are the working poor. Your right.
Subject: [bdn] Re: Gallup poll says Maine next to last in list of ‘thriving’ states
I am amazed at he created a harder life for me in two years and I am middle class.
Explain that for us please. Just what he did to you. Thank you.
just like Obama has done to the nation.
The nation is better off today then it was when Bush left office. Forty months of positive job growth, DOW Jones is hovering around 13,000.
40 months ha ha.. sounds like a Democratic sound bite.
The truth is:
GDP growth is 1.5%
Unemployment 8.3%
historic levels of food stamp use
historic levels of people on disability.
An administration that doesn’t have the first idea how jobs are created
It’s because of the anti anything BANANAs that keep killing anything anyone tries to do..Except Big Wind which line King Angus’s and other dem hacks pockets…..
How have we killed everything he tries to do? I wish I were that powerfull. I would have kept him from stealing $900/month of my Pension so you can get a tax break. Maybe I have this wrong but how can you blame Democrats when the Governor, Senate and House all are Republicans and can pass anything they want?
Subject: [bdn] Re: Gallup poll says Maine next to last in list of ‘thriving’ states
A little over 60K, that is what King made on Wind. Good god, that is a wind-fall, for sure.
Still sniffling over the election, I see. Oh well, I guess the dem voters need people to hold their hand all the way through life.
Can you even begin to understand that the keyensian economics this state has been yoked to for the past 35 year are the reason for the woes we have? Do you not see that the states who have more conservative economic policies are the ones thriving? Why do liberals always run to the George Bush argument? Does pointing the finger at past fails policies solve the problem? You sound like the guy who reminds the teacher about the homework assignment that is due!
So Lepage is at fault after less than 2 years in Maine, but Obama is not at fault after 3.5 years in the White House?
That’s comparing apples and oranges @google-405dc5cb7e0d3b314fa6a9aeff153ef3:disqus . Obama has the whole country to work on and LePage only has the state. You can’t compare the two. LePage is a joke and he has proved that every time he opens his mouth. He has severly damaged our state!
That’s right. If Republicans hadn’t blocked everything in Congress we’d be out of this mess by now. All they want is to give bigger tax breaks to the rich. We’ll see how that works out for them come election time.
Subject: [bdn] Re: Gallup poll says Maine next to last in list of ‘thriving’ states
Considering the sheer amount of Bush mess that Obama has cleaned up, yes this nation is better off today than it was the day he took office. The same can not be said for LePage. In fact the exact opposite can be said, Maine is worse off today than the day LePage took office.
pigg face couldn’t work his way off the toilet at the blaine house long enough to tie his pigg shoes
Maybe it had to do with your hatred of the French? Ever been to Quebec City? Think you can afford it?
I don’t hate the French. My best Friends live in Montreal.
Subject: [bdn] Re: Gallup poll says Maine next to last in list of ‘thriving’ states
Just spent a week in Quebec…night & day economy and society….looking for prosperity?
It’s right across the border, past the broken down ATV’s and busted up buildings in Jackman.
Time to urge Gov. LePage to send a major trade delegation to see what kind of businesses could also move into Maine…need to ship and want to save money?
Maine is right next to the Atlantic.
Need an empty airport? Try Brunswick’s.
Anyway; I couldn’t believe the wealth in Quebec…mostly new cars, lots of construction, plenty of high technology, esp. biotechnology….a lot more art and culture in the outlying towns than in all of Portland.
Email the Governor today, and send a trade delegation there now to explore ways of working together.
It was strawberry season…big baskets of sweet fruit for only a few dollars, as well as the first peaches. Want to see real prosperity? try any supermarket in the Quebec region and sample the abundance of food available.
Learning French is a P.I.A….but it beats learning Chinese or Spanish!
I think we should wait until we have a new Governor to write those letters – this one doesn’t act unless he receives an anonymous fax. On a more serious note, I would love to see what you’re saying about Quebec. Perhaps Maine could take a page out of their book. If they are thriving and their costs are down then we need to ask them how to turn around our economy.
Somebody tell us something we all didn’t already know…….
How, the people of Maine, have re-elected those two do-nothings we have had in the Senate for the last 12 years I will never know. The both got us into Iraq, Collins has almost destroyed the post office with her meddling, they grab a headline and then run and hide until the next election, we have to be careful, if we do not get some great leaders, the whole US will go down, laugh if you want, but the line up in Maine right now, scares the hell out of me.
They’re not do nothings…they protect the middle from extreme political thought. Considering there are only 4 or 5 moderates left in the Senate they’re losing.
I will agree to disagree. I must say, the US had better begin to produce some dynamic leaders or the US will follow the path of ancient Rome.
You mean the Rome of a very few incredibly rich landowners and the vast majority of the rest poor peasants and slaves and a military that took 80% of Rome’s income for upkeep?
Sounds awfully familiar, yeah that US, er, I mean Rome.
You’re obviously blind and never actually pay attention to the Senate.
I hope everyone realizes that this is a poll. It measures how we think we are doing. This is a pretty typical response from Mainers. We have the best way of life in the country, yet we still find plenty to complain about. Wouldn’t read to much into this.
The results of this poll aren’t surprising considering Mainers are the least apt among residents of other states to go to church on Sundays. Non-attendees tend to be more pessimistic about the future, which is what the poll results indicate. Given this fact how can one continue to ignore religion’s positive role in society? When is the last time we have heard political candidates from both sides of the aisle extol the value of religion?
I don’t go the church, I also not a pessimist. I’ve found since I stopped going to church, I’m happier. I don’t have to listen to people, talking about me, and making me feel bad about myself.
APPLAUSE!Not to mention you don’t have to participate in the shakedown to pay off pedophiles or put hard earned $$ in the “hate plates”A truer spiritual connection can be found in the outdoors.
one does not have to attend a church to be religious.
it may have something to do with that pesky little ‘separation of church and state clause’….
I was never an alter boy in the Catholic Church because I valued the virginity of my sphinkter muscle. And somehow remain positive without the Church.
Your statement about the Church sounds very prejudicial to me. In the worse years between 1952 until now sexual abuse by the clergy (roughly 4%) was no more prevalent than in society as a whole. Today, the occurrence is far less in the Church due to the implementation of reforms to protect children. Don’t misunderstand me, I don’t support any form of abuse no matter where it happens and who is responsible.
Your stats may or may not be right but a priest should be held to higher standards than society as a whole.
Certainly priests and others in positions of trust should be held to higher standards of expectation. When it comes to sentencing, however, all should be treated alike with the possible exception of those who can demonstrate they were molested themselves as youngsters. If you have suggestions of your own I’d be interested hearing from you.
Yeah. Jesus is the answer to every question no one asked.
And people who push their god onto others, wonder why people don’t like that.
Perhaps it is because you use non-scientific dogma to push your agenda that everyone needs what you have found?
Personally, I have a great life. My wife and I have the most incredible daughter, and while we aren’t rich by any stretch of the imagination, we don’t want for anything. We enjoy what little we do have. Church is not even in our vocabulary, since we are teaching our daughter to think for herself; and to treat others as she would like to be treated.
One does not need religious allegories to live one’s life.
Go forth with your church and your god, but please, leave the judgment and pop psychology at the door.
I merely stated a reality based on statistical findings about pessimism. Non-church attendees tend to be less pessimistic. What with all the criticism about religion coming from atheists, the fact remains religion as a whole is a positive force in our society. Like it or not, the facts are the facts, uncomfortable as they may be with some people. This is not pop psychology or a judgement concerning any particular individual.
Please link me to the study that provided you these facts.
Thank you.
I’ve already shown some correlation between pessimism and church attendance. A recent article in this paper indicated Mainers are the least likely of all other state residents to attend church regularly. In contrast, the article linked to this thread points out the fact Mainers – with the exception of residents of another state – feel more pessimistic about their future in the next five years than residents from all the other states. Notice here, I use the word “correlation” and not “causation”, a distinction some posters seemed to have overlooked or not understood, judging from several comments I had so far.
Here are two sources that further confirm this correlation:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/301/are-we-happy-yet
http://christiancadre.blogspot.com/2009/03/attending-church-promotes-happiness.html
Thank you, I look forward to the read. Even though I completely disagree with you taking two articles and speaking of a “correlation”. I could just as easily say that one article says Mainers feel more pessimistic and then point to an article about how bad the winter is going to be, and blame that pessimistic outlook on the weather. It might be a viable theory, but it doesn’t mean a thing if it is too broad a brush to paint an entire State populace with.
There are some good points here. Maine has become one of the least “Christian” states in the country. There is a common scorn toward the faith of Christians although that is found anywhere you go in this world. Maine is a basket case at this point and is only growing worse. Certainly it’s reprobate path has something to do with it.
Maine most certainly does not have the best way of life in the country.
Whoops my bad. I guess we’re #4….
http://www.cnbc.com/id/48058146/America_s_Best_States_to_Live_in_2012?slide=8
Seems pretty good to me. I’d rather live here than anywhere else.
Go to New Jersey!
All what ya make of it.
Oh so true..Give me another heaping helping of quality of place..I need to pay a few bills…Thanks…
I bet all LePage supporters believe that.
LePage supporter??!?!?!?!? HAHAHAHAHA!!! Last time I checked LePage hates Maine and wants to change everything about it. This is not a political issue. It’s an issue that has plagued Maine long before LeRage ever took office. When you think like a loser, you act like a loser, that’s why we are losing.
Being this low on the survey, at what point does “thriving” become “surviving”.
We need to give control back to the socialists (Democrats) as soon as possible. S/
Nice, thanks gov’nah. Where are the jobs!
There haven’t been jobs since before LePage, stop grasping at straws.
but he certainly did promise us some…
Well he did get one for his daughter and other relative, I can’t remember his exact relationship to LePage.
Brother-in-law.
Also that job for the State Officer outside his office door.
He also said if after 18mos things weren’t better we (the public) could start throwing darts at him, and he would learn to duck.
Sounded then like he was confident he could deliver on jobs within 18mos.
yes but the Welfarians took down his sign.
Wow we are doing much better then I thought, I figured we would be dead last. Unless Charlie Webster got his hands on the results and changed things before they were published.
LePage has certainly driven all of the moonbats over the edge.
Kind of sad, really…..lol
So all non LePage supporters are “moonbats”? You need therapy you’re delirious.
“Thriving” generally indicates a youthful population. Maine has the oldest population in the country. Connect the dots.
How long will it take before people understand that the road to recovery doesn’t begin with pointing fingers? Maine, you’re a mess. It’s not going to get better until you start working on it instead of pointing fingers. There’s plenty of blame to go around. Fix it.
Fix it you say?? Do we REALLY want to fix it ?? I think not..No matter what anyone proposes , it isn’t right for Maine , not the right jobs for Maine , to much traffic , to much noise blah , blah , blah…Mainers like to complain about it like the weather but in reality like things just as they are…Right Poland Springs ?? Right Plum Creek ??Right Cianbro?? Right Searsport?? Right Walmart ?? I rest my case your Honor…
Hey, we are the oldest state in the nation. Old people typically are not likely to say that they are thriving. Bodies wear out, opportunities stop presenting themselves.
I bet if the same questions were asked primarily of people around Maine’s Hipster City, Portland, we’d be closer to Hawaii than W Virginia.
We are an old manufacturing state without anything to manufacture. By way of comparison, when the Civil War got done, most kids didn’t come home to Maine, more opportunity out west, better land.
I wonder if we Mainers even want to thrive. If so we’d all become religious conversions and move to Utah. Maybe exist in peace is all. All of these drug-related deaths lately aren’t helping anyone in that respect.
I am in relative terms, thriving, and I hope my kids, all Mainers, would say so too.
It seems awfully strange to me, that from the time I began my work carreer (in 1973, with a a slightly better then minimum wage job) I had been able to make ends meet and have money left over to increase my living standard; however, for the last few years I have been working harder then ever and have a harder time making ends meet. I can only attribute this change to the influx of Liberal policies ushered in when the Liberal Democrats took control of Congress, in January of 2007, after the 2006 elections.
One has to wonder if certain policies (mark to market, etc.) were put into use to bring about a slow down in the economy, in order to get aLiberal Democrat elected president. Then once the slow down started it could not be held back and the economy downward spiraled into the Great Recession.
Just a little conspiracy theory for you. But, is this idea really that far fetched?????
Far-fetched? How about the idea that the Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said publicly that the first and top goal of Republicans was to make sure Obama was a one-term president.
I think you’re projecting what the Republicans have actually done onto the Democrats.
“downward spiraled into the Great Recession.” started by Bush, but fixed by Obama. The Republicans have blocked everything Obama has tried to accomplish for over a year in an attempt to make him look ineffective. Not for the good of the American people, but so a Repub. might have a better chance of unseating him. I believe it’s backfired. Anyone following Washington politics can see right through that. When you have Senators and House members that won’t run again because they’re so disgusted with the dirty politics, it tells you what a pig sty Congress has become. Seems like everyone in the Republican and some in the Democratic parties have auctioned their votes to the highest bidders.
I agree with much of what you said except, it didn’t take the Republicans to make Obama look bad. He did that all by his little lonsome self.
That’s bull, they blocked any progress he tried to make.
Actually, he got everything he has asked for. It is Harry Reid in the Senate who is blocking all legislation at this point.
The Republicans didn’t block his amnesty for illegal aliens, expansion of foodstamps, his anti Israel postion, Fast and Furious, his inability to come produce a budget, his inability to bring down unemployment, his expansion of the size of government, his expansion of the federal deficit, etc., etc. Maybe this is what you call progress, but not me.
They tried, but cooler heads prevailed.
..and God help us if nobody tried to stop Obama….worst president ever.
LePage worst governor …… ever.
Baldacci retired the trophy for worst governor ever…
* – The failed Mainecare computer billing system that cost us $100 million in direct costs (and probably twice that in real costs) for absolutely nothing. They subsequently spent another $40 million on it and it STILL doesn’t work.
* – A former prominent Dem legislator stealing the MTA blind while no one in the Baldacci administration had a clue what was going on.
* – The sale of the state liquor business to politically connected Dem insiders at a fire sale price (we’ll be paying for that one in lost revenue for years to come) to pretend to balance the budget.
* – Failure to pay Maine hospitals hundreds of millions that they were owed, again to pretend to balance the budget.
* – The “loss” of a hundred million from DHHS without a trace. The
clueless Baldacci administration didn’t even seem to care where it went.
* – The sale of prison system property to connected public employee in a no-bid deal that once again the clueless Baldacci administration was unaware of at best.
* – The failure that is Dirigo health that was going to… Insure ALL of the uninsured in 5 years (FAIL), Lower premiums for everyone (FAIL), be self supporting and NEVER require any tax money (EPIC FAIL).
* – MSHA led by another Dem hack building 1,00 square foot “affordable” apartments for a quarter million dollars each.
* – MSHA under the Dem hack and the green energy scam that cost a million dollars and actually used MORE energy than it saved. We’d have been better off converting the million dollars to one dollar bills and burning it. At least we’d have gotten some energy out of it.
Compared to the previous administration LePage is a freaking genius.
I would say that both governor’s have tied for the title as the worst governor’s ever!
James Buchanan, Warren G. Harding, Andrew Johnson, Franklin Pierce, Richard Nixon and Milard Filmore are all on the line, they each say they have a bone to pick with you.
George W is holding as well…
I didn’t want to go there, lest I be accused of blaming Bush.
Let’s not forget plenty who “served” a term or two,blovated about “new blood””more time with my family” or some such BS and skipped out of Congress,their pockets filled with lobbyist’s contacts and some six figure speeches and cushy corporate board seats awaiting.Chris Dodd-head of the MPAA-Exhibit A.Talk about a group dedicated to strangling and screwing the public while controlling the flow of information!
As long as you think that Obama fixed anything, you will remain a failure in life.
Actually I retired after a very successful career.
Well, how come you haven’t paid your “fair share” yet?
Oh, I’m a 1%er, so I don’t have to. How come you’re such a sarcastic a?
You are not being honest either.
You don’t really know that do you? Maybe I’m a proud Republican that strongly disagrees with the Tea Party greed.
Nope, you aren’t a Republican. Republican 1%ers would not attribute greed to the “Tea Party”. For the most part, they are moms and pops of all stripes.
Actually you’re wrong again. I am a Republican, just not a sheep. But keep telling yourself you’re always right & pretty soon even you will begin to believe it. Now please don’t reply again, you remind me of the automated political phone calls I get daily.
Oh I see … an Olympia kind of Republican (RINO, I should have known)
You’re exhausting…go away.
That’s what Olympia is doing … going away.
Well since The County voted like TP sheep for LePage and he thanked them by jacking up their insurance premiums-enjoy that money you used to have that is now going to Anthem!
TP sheep for Obumas hope and change….
What TPer would’ve voted for Obama?
I’m really sick of everyone blaming “The County.” We have like 6 people, the city of Bangor alone can just about negate whatever we vote for or against up here. Ok, maybe that’s an exageration… more like Bangor, Old Town, and Orono can negate our vote.
Maybe so but the old people vote since they have nothing else to do and the County is full of them.The TPers are destroying our country and the County is no exception.
Well, what do you expect when our own governor is a sadistic liar who sold us out for a few coins.
Apparently too many of those polled listen to LePage and buy in to his counterproductive put downs.
maine is a mess look at bangor. look at all the murders lately in bangor
i am tired of hearing about murders in bangor drugs bathsalts why bangor
Because these posts are in the BDN.
Not wanting to hear about it won’t make it go away,much like Carlson.No place in America is immune.
Well wonder why all we are is a big social service state and state filled with welfare and drug addiction problems. Would that be because we have so many methadone clinics here and we hand out welfare benefits to everyone that shows up on our doorsteps??
If what you say is true, we’d score higher, because all those welfare and drug addicted people would say they’re thriving here in Maine. You need some new material.
Thank you Lepage for your positive attitude and your inspiration you have bestowed on police, firemen, teachers, jews, gays, women, students. Oops, I was putting the republican spin on governor buffoon. :)
You forgot artists,newspaper people, woods workers,and all of Maine’s young people, students or not!
And you forgot the NAACP, scientists who told him BPA was harmful and the women and babies it harms, loggers and the list of individuals and groups that he has spoken out against seems endless…
I think it would be easier to write a list of people in Maine that LePage hasn’t said anything negative about. It would be a list with one entry – Paul LePage!!!
This poll was the dumbest poll and makes nothing but false accusations. Who exactly votes in a Gallup poll? I am not saying they don’t show reality, but do they show intent? Did the rich and thriving actually vote? There are a lot of rich and well-to-do people who reside in Maine. Also, there are professionals here that are making a decent living. Who voted on these? Romney supporters? More crap to make us look bad. It’s all about making us look like the ruins. Then tomorrow we will be in another poll that makes us look good. Stop the insane from thinking!
But…. but…. but we have LePage!
And all these bath salt-infused citizens with all their energy and pep and vim…. how can we be so low on the list??
Gallup Opinion Polls are pretty useless except for writing useless news stories like this one.
You mean a state that makes it very easy to get on the public dole wouldn’t be a “thriving” state?
Who knew?
Only the hills of West Virgina is worse than Maine, in America. And still there are folks who do not believe that the real hillbilly’s are right here. It has to be the country western music. Now, how do we overtake W.V
What? Maine is not thriving? The greedy 1%er’s took all the manufacturing jobs out of Maine and sent them to China. Then they replaced them with service sector jobs that pay public assistance wages selling their cheap Chinese made crap. I can’t understand why we would not consider ourselves to be thriving. We do not even have the good sense to help ourselves by buying American made products. I spent half a day recently scouring Bangor for a pair of New balance shoes made in Norridgewock, Maine. All I found were cheap Chinese made shoes. I finally gave up and drove to the factory store in Skowhegan. It was either that or go barefoot for me.
Why would anyone who needs to produce something want to pay all the extra cost that would be required to do it in Maine?
DEP doesn’t exactly make it easy to start a business or to keep one going.
Finally, an easy question to answer! If potential consumers do not have a decent paying job, they can not buy the products. No matter how cheap the women and children make them in China. One does not need a degree in economics to spot this flaw.
What does that have to do with the cost of doing business in this State? If thje government you put in place makes it too tough for business to operate they go elsewhere. The people who are left behind must either follow them or life with out the pay they provided. It isn’t like you can build a wall to force them to stay.
Your question about the cost of doing business in this state still does nothing to address the basic flaw in off shoring jobs. No jobs, no consumers. We have been sending jobs and money to China for the last 25 years. Now, all of the sudden, people are wondering why we have no jobs and no money! lol. In 1985 when Ronald Reagan, famed commie hater, was president our trade deficit with communist China was $6 million. In 2011 it was over $350 billion with a B. We have given them so many of our jobs and so much of our money that they now own over 10% of our debt and climbing. We had better start learning to buy American again, or start learning to speak Chinese.
I don’t disagree with your rant against trade deficits but if it were really true “no jobs, no consumers” people would be doing something about it with their checkbooks. The fact is the American people are choosing to buy this chinese crap over our American crap. They have made their choice. The thing that most bothers me about all of this is that anyone in the military can tell you that China does not have to fight us to beat us. All they need to do is stop selling to us and buying our debt.
Call due all of our debt to them and War over.
Learn Mandarin, many of the other dialects are next to useless.
Corporate America has learned from Walmart. [Hire people who are desperate and will accept low salaries] Big business will not start to hire again until people are so desperate that they will take jobs with far less pay than they were getting years before. It would be easy to lay this all on Republicans as most of Corp. Am., wall street etc. are probably registered Repub.
However, I think that most of our elected officials, from both parties, are aware of this and are either directly involved or feel that it is to big an issue to fight.
I was hoping that something would come out of the Occ. Wall Street movement. A group of informed
people from which we could elect and whose platform would be to change how the Government works such as no lobbyiest, one 5 year term for Presidency etc. There is no way those changes will be made unless we elect officials who are not connected with Big Business.
Well… based upon the comments here I can see exactly why Maine would rate very low in a poll for hope for the future! I mean really… look at how many people are pointing the finger of blame and tossing about hateful comments spreading messages of inpending doom. When people are doing this it doesn’t leave much room for hopeful thinking. But I do have to agree that LePage is NOT helping the matter. I don’t care who created it… it IS his job to do something to turn it around. All he’s done is enhance the feelings of doom and dispare. Come election time – he’s had his opportunity – he blew it – time for someone else to take the reins. I’m hopeful that this can happen. Spread the hope!!!!
So if LePage has failed and should not be re-elected why shouldn’t the exact same measure be used against Obama? That whole Hope and Change thing never actually worked out so why should we go forward with him?
Your question doesn’t make any sense since I never said anything about electing or re-electing Obama so asking me why shouldn’t we do the same… I never said we shouldn’t, I never said we should. I just never commented at all on Obama. My comment was about LePage and Maine specifically because this article is about LePage and Maine specifically. If you want me to comment on Obama… write an article about Obama.
Yeah, it’s always funny how those of you on the left can’t seem to make those connections.
I am a registered Republican and have been since 1972. Funny how you assume left just because I won’t comment on Obama when the article is about LePage. Like I said, I comment about Obama when the article is about him. I comment about many different politicians without having to include Obama in every conversation… I guess you can’t. Funny how I spend so much less time than you do preoccupied with Obama, isn’t it?
Funny! I’m a registered Democrat ever since Carter.
Another study from AARP and MoneyRate ranked Maine dead last for retirement. The reason: the high cost of living, including high taxes and high energy costs. However, every attempt to address these problems are demonized by the left. I don’t see why any small business would want to stay here when they can save thousands in taxes, insurance and energy costs by simply moving a couple of hours away to NH. Gov LePage gave small business owners hope, but the continued attacks from the left don’t leave us thinking any real reform will happen.
They didn’t call me…I’m thriving…
When the deck is stacking against us, it is hard to feel optimistic about the future. Fuel prices have risen to record highs. Food prices continue to climb. Our jobs are moving overseas. Record numbers of companies are closing. Unemployment is still very high. Employers don’t treat us workers with the respect we used to receive from them and some are abusive but if we complain we lose our desperately needed jobs. People are losing their homes and banks refuse to work with them to come up with a solution. The price of everything has gone way up to the point where our pitiful raises at work could never keep up.
The best advice I could give to our high school and college graduates is get out of this state. There is nothing but hardships here for you.
Maine is a retirement State.
How do liberals explain why Maine seems to be regularly near the bottom of the pile and not New Hampshire, Vermont, Arkansas, etc.?
New Hampshire and Vermont are no where near as old and rural as we are.
It’s never been “Boom or Bust” in Maine it’s just been bust :-/
Folks, lets keep in mind tha this is a POLL and not any sort of study.
Lets also keep in mind that this poll studied people’s ATTITUDES. “Do you feel like you’re thriving?”
All this poll proves is that we have a bad attitude!
After thirty or more years of entitlements it is going to take a long time to climb out of the liberal cesspool.
How about this as a follow-up question:
Do you plan to stay here anyway?
Or this:
Are you personally happy with your life in Maine?
or one more:
Do you have a source of income which is not effected by Maine’s lack of “thriving?”
Ga-lunk to Gallop and all the other Le Page meaningless scatterbrained whining.
We’ve been told so many times over the past 80 years or more, that we are on the bottom step of the national Economic Ladder. Maine Wags love to add that means we don’t have far to fall as the other states.
When you think about, we are a let more fortunate than the other states which are choking on pollution, tainted drinking water, excessive heat, creepy crawlers and giant Pythons and Rattlesnakes.
Surprised Le Page isn’t on the horn yelling his head off about how we need to change. He loves this stuff. Why doesn’t someone take him lobster fishing for a day? Let him climb the rigging on a Windjammer? Or, just dangle a line over a skiff in some quiet restful pond?
The Gallop people need to come to Maine for a week and learn to relax. They could explain how the addition of four millions jobs could be staffed by a state boasting less that 1.5 million men, women and children -oh, a large contingent of older people.
There is an underlying factor here that has nothing to do with Left vs. Right. Maine is the most oil dependent state. In an era of increasing scarcity of oil and rapidly rising prices, this would tend to make us feel less “thriving”:-)
Just spent a week in Quebec…night & day economy and society….looking for prosperity? It’s right across the border, past the broken down ATV’s in Jackman and busted up buildings.
Time to urge Gov. LePage to send a major trade delegation to see what kind of businesses could also move into Maine…need to ship and want to save money? Maine is right next to the Atlantic. Need an empty airport? Try Brunswick’s.
Anyway; I couldn’t believe the wealth in Quebec…mostly new cars, lots of construction, plenty of high technology, esp. biotechnology….a lot more art and culture in the outlying towns than in all of Portland.
Email the Governor today, and send a trade delegation there now to explore ways of working together.
It was strawberry season…big baskets of sweet fruit for only a few dollars, as well as the first peaches. Want to see real prosperity? try any supermarket and the abundance of food available.
Learning French is a P.I.A….but it beats learning Chinese or Spanish!
Ican believe this article to be extremely true. I am an individual who loves Maine am from there and building a home , for the future.But come about 7yrs ago I left the state so that my wife and myself would work and put money away for retirement. and be prosperous .This problem didn’t start with Lepage it started as far back as Angus King, I remember every year going to the polls and seeing another bond issue or a subsidy for saving sea grass in Frenchmans Bay. We as Mainers aided government and voted for all these goofy causes and thinking we would just get it for free. These monies could’ve been used with foresight toward the future infrastructure of the Pine Tree States . I Love this state as much as all that live there and miss it immensely, but when it comes to my well being or my outlook it’s up to me to make the change. We as Mainers need to stop giving away the farm to one and all and trying to be there for every cause, except for our own, stop taxing everything, taxes and no jobs injure Mainers. Someone states that Lepage has hurt working class policies. There is no work there to hurt any policies. I lived in Washington County, and as far as I can see if you don’t live in Portland or Bangor there really isn’t that much work.
After 40 years of Left wing hard leaning on the tiller, it is impossible to change course rapidly. In nautical terms, it is the difference between “coming about” and “jibbing”. Maine has become a welfare magnet for the world and exploded our percent of state revenue potential on entitlements while catering to an extreme environmental protection contingency. Mr. LePage is doing a great job .. if he can only get a 5 degree move in a direction of sustainable policy for Maine; making Maine more attractive for improvements in the qualify of life and potential for our educated youth, he will deserve accolade.
You will note in the article that Vermont topped the list. Think about that for a moment. Another state full of treehuggers stopping any sort of development that might help the edconomy because of “green-green-green” agendas. Again no compromise for the sake of personal interests over what’s best for the state’s future. I’m sure this will get a rise out of a few of you.
Bye Bye Paul and friends we will see you in Florida some day.
LeBuffoon put Maine near last place. It gets tiring always battling Mississippi for last place in everything. We all must remember however that Mississippi is also run by Tea Party Goons from the Tea Governor to the Tea Legislature.
Of course Mississippi is actually last. The people there would probably respond as such but their schools have deteriorated so badly they would likely be challenged to respond to the written word. I say this somewhat in jest. The fact remains that we are not thriving. The cold reality of an economy that does not ever make room for increasing wages for workers in spite of all time record profits means that there are winners and losers. This is not the fault of “democratic or liberal policies run amok” this is the work of CEOs working together and organizing like workers used to and creating a world to their liking.
In order for Maine to thrive, workers need to make better wages so they can support their families and have money to consume products that require new labor to make. That feedback loop increases and grows an economy and makes it “thrive”.
We are being sold the reverse and it is taking a toll. We are giving more and more to the large corporation and getting stagnant or falling wages in return. What will it take for the working people to finally DEMAND better for ourselves.
In 2012, a person earning $8 per hour cannot help but accept food stamps or heat assistance. the way out is not to cut the food stamps and oil, it is to push wages higher. Sure the profits for the corporations will fall. They are at an all time record. This is the choice we have. They will scare us to make us think we cannot have higher wages because they cannot afford to pay them, but they can. The most prospersous nations in the world (it WAS us) have minimum wages two and three times what ours is. These are often the countries that are NOT suffering in debt bubbles as well.
We will not thrive until hard working people get their due. This has to stop. This is not punishing success, this is rewarding hard work. This used to be an American value and needs to be once again.